Door-operating mechanism



ll ',5 HEE IM A. CAMPBELL DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Fe 16 1923 SSheets-Sheet 1 AR YLE CAMPBE T7'0RN Y A. CAMPBELL DOOR OPERATINGMECHANISM UV. 1, M

Filed 16 1923 3 Shams-Sheet 3 //v YEN TOR A/zarne Gum/5am H/s A TTDRNEYA. CAMPBELL noon OFEHATING MECHANISM Filed Feb- 16. 1923 s Shams-Sheet 5AKGYLE CAMPBHL H/s ATroR/vEY Patented Nov. 1%, 1924.

ARG-YLE CAMPBELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ENTERPRISE RAIL'WAYEQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DOOR-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Application filed February 16, 1923. Serial No. 619,366.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARGYLE CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-OperatingMechanisms, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription, refer ence being had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in door operating mechanism.

One object of the invention is to provide an improvedand simplifiedmethod of actuating an operating shaft in connection with the openingand closing of dumping doors used on railway freight cars and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved clutch devicebetween the operating shaft securing the doors in their closed positionand the part adapted to be actuated by the operator for the purpose ofeffecting rotation of the shaft and consequent opening of the dumpingdoors. I am aware that various devices embodying a clutch or looseconnection in car door operating mechanisms are now in use but these aregenerally of a complicated nature and lacking in stability and it is thepurpose of my invention to remedy such deficiencies.

Another specific object of the invention is to provide a door operatingshaft of maximum strength combined with light weight and which may beeasily manufactured and easily applied to the car.

My invention further resides in the novel combination of parts anddetails of construction as will more clearly appear from the descriptionhereinafter following.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is avertical transverse sectional view of a W-type hopper car showing myimproved door operating mechanism applied thereto, a little more thanone half of the width of the car being disclosed. Figure 2 is alongitudinal sectional view corresponding substantially to the sectionline 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the hubarms. Figure 4 is and simplified safety a perspective View of theoperating shaft. Figure 5 is a sectional view through the shaft taken ona line corresponding substantially to the section line 55 of Figure t.Figure6 is a broken, side elevatio-nal view, on an enlarged scale, ofthe improved clutch. device. and shaft locking arrangement as viewed ona line corresponding substantially to'line 6- 6 of Figure 1. Figure 7 isa broken, transverse. sectional view of the clutch device and shaftlocking arrangement and also forms an elevational view of Figure 6.Figure 8 is a sectional view taken through the clutch mechanism and on aline which corresponds substantially to line 88 of Figure 6. Figure 9 isa sectional view of the. clutch mechanism taken on a line correspondingsubstantially to line 99 of Figure 8. Figure 10 is a sectional viewtaken through a line corresponding substantially to line 101() of Figure7 and illustrates the retaining Washer in assembled re lation with theclutch member. Figure 11 is a perspective View of the inner end of theclutch member illustrating the formation of the interlocking projectionsthereof used in connection with the clutch retaining washer. Figure 12is a perspective view of the clutch retaining washer. Figure 13 is asectional view through the locking pawl and locking cam taken on a linecorresponding substantially to line 13-13 of Figure 6.

I have shown my improvements as applied to a hopper car of that typewherein the bottom walls slope downwardly from the ends of the cartoward the center, the car having a central transverse ridge and formedwith hoppers, arranged in pairs transversely of the car. As shown, eachhopper is defined by a sloping bottom hopper sheet 10, a vertical innerside hopper sheet 11, an outer inwardly sloping side hopper sheet 12 anda part of the transverse ridge as indicated at 13 in Figures 1 and 2.The opening of the hopper is adapted to be closed by a hopper doorindicated at 14, the same being hinged to the underside of the ridgesheet 13 as by means of the hinge butts 15, thus adapting the door toswing about its upper edge on an axis extending trans- 111,9 8 1tli.

at in. Figure 3.

versely of the car. As customary in this type of car, the two doors ofthe transversely alined pair of hoppers are adapted to be operatedsimultaneously and to this end a cross'brace is secured near the freeedges of the doors near their lower ends, as indicated at 16, it beingunderstood that said crossbrace passes from one door to the other below,and bridging the space between the center sill construction.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a transversely extendinghorizontal operating shaft A mounted in suitable bearing castings l7l7secured to the inner vertical side hopper sheets 1l11 and in a bearing18 secured to the outer, inwardly sloping hopper side sheet 12. Saidshaft A, which preferably consists of a circular bar, is preferablyextended to one side of the car only where it is provided with a safetyclutch device as hereinafter described. The other end of the shaft isdistorted from its circular section to a preferably rectangular shape asindicated at 19 in Figure 4, and terminates just beyond the plane of thefar side of the center still construction, the shaft being fitted withbushings 20-2O whereby the shaft is adapted to turn freely in the bear-Applied to the shaft A at a point thereon between the center sills 21'2lare hub arms designated by the reference let ters B-B. Said hub arms BBare formed of right and left construction respectively and are slippedover the shaft A and held rigidly there-with against rotation preferablyby means of the non-circular formation 19 of the shaft and thecorrespondingly shaped opening in the hub arms as indicated In order toobtain the most satisfactory results, it is desirable that thetransformation of the shaft from a circular to a noircircular sectionshould be accomplished without the necessity of upsetting the originalportion of the shaft while at the same time securing a non-circularsection of sufficient size and strength to withstand relative twistingbetween the hub arms B and the said shaft A. I accomplish the desiredresult by fiuting the sides of the non-circular portion 19 of the shaft.as indicated at 23. This is accomplished by reducing the cross-sectionof the circular portion of the shaft as indicated at 23 and forcing themetal outwardly to form "a section of polygonal shape, preferably in theform of a square as indicated in the drawings.

The hub arm sections B may be held against longitudinal movement withrespect "to the car body by any suitable means such as the bolts 24:;The hub arm sections are held in relation to each other by means ofbolts or rivets 2525 passing through flanges 26 of the respective hubsections B.

Operative connection between the arms B and the door is effected by anelongated rigid link C. Said link C is deflected or bent intermediateits ends where it passes across the shaft as indicated at 27, the linkbeing adapted to rest on the shaft. At its end adjacent the door, thelink C is forked as shown at 28-28, the forks being perforated toacctunmodate a heavy pivot-pin 29 which connects it to the eyebolt 30,the latter being in turn rigidly, but adjustably secured to the pair ofdoors by means of cross-brace 1'6. At its opposite end the link C has arounded terminus as indicated at 31, which is perforated to accommodatea heavy pivot preferably in the form of a rivet 32 extending through theflanges 33 of the respective hub arms and carrying a ferrule 34 whicheffectively spaces the said arms B from each other. Said rivet 32 formsan additional means securing the hub arm sections B together. The link Cis provided also with a radial shoulder 35 on its upper side which isadapted to engage shoulder forming flanges 36 provided on the hub armsections B at the end of the full opening movement of the door tothereby limit the relative swinging movement of the link G and the hubarms B and prevent the ivotal connection from falling down be ow apre-determined point. The total angular movement of the hub arm from thedoor closed position to the fully opened position thereof isapproximately 180 and it will be seen that this total angular movementis positively controlled and cannot be exceeded.

As a precaution against injury to the operator in opening of the door, asafety clutch arrangement is applied to the end of the shaft. Thisarrangement comprises a clutch member or housing D rotatably mounted inbearing 18 and within which the end of the circular portion of the shaftA indicated at 37, is extended. Said shaft, at the outer end thereof, isformed with a circular portion 33 of reduceddiameter constituting ajournal on which said clutch member I) is adapted to rotate.Intermediate said circular portions 37 and 38 respectively, there is aradially disposed lug 35) formed on the shaft and preferably integrallytherewith. The difference between the two diameters of the respectivebearings 37 and 38 is indicated by the wall 4-0 with which the lug 39 isintegrally formed and consequently resistance of the said lug toshearing is very great inasmuch as it is secured to the shaft in theplane of rotation thereof and also at right angles thereto.

The other main element of the safety tc vice is the clutch member Dformed with inner bearings 41 and 42 cooperating with circular portions37 and 38 of the shaft A. The outer end of the clutch member D is formedin such a manner as to receive a clawbar or other suitable tool and inthis instance llll a square section 43. The clutch member D isinsertedin the bearing 18 from theoutside of the car and inward movementthereof relative to the bearing is prevented by means of guiding flange44. It will be noted that projecting lug 46 is formed, this lug 46 beingin the same vertical plane as the lug 39 on the shaft A. The clutchmember is formed with slot 47 in the face of the inner bearing 41 forthe passage of the projecting portion of the lug 39 during theassembling of the shaft A and clutch member D.

Outward movement of the clutch member with respect to the bearing 18 isprevented by means of a retaining washer plate E adapted to be fixedrelatively to the clutch member D on the inner side thereof; The washer,which is in the form of a perforated disk of comparatively bendablemetal is adapted to assume a position between the bearing 18 andprojections 48 formed on the periphery of the clutch member D where itis formed of reduced diameter as indicated at 49 in Figure 11. Adjacentthe periphery of the reduced portion 49 there is a continuous shoulderindicated at 50 formed by the larger diameter section of the clutchmember and which forms one side of a channel 52, the other side of thechannel being provided by the projections 48. Between each of saidprojections 48, openings in the form of notches as indicated at 51 areformed and are preferably slightly greater in extent than theprojections. The inner periphery of the retaining Washer E presents anirregular appearance, being formed of a series of notches 53 andsegmental portions 54 alternately disposed. The notches 53 and thesegmental portions 54 are so disposed on the washer as to permit thedisk to be slipped on the inner end of the clutch member D and to slidefreely longitudinally thereof when the notches 53 in the disk and theprojections 48 on the clutch member are in alignment. Adjacent thenotches on the wall 55 of the washer are outwardly extending flanges 56of a size adapted to fit within openings 51 of the clutch member D. Inorder to lock the retaining washer E in place on the clutch member Dsaid washer is brought into position with the notches 53 thereofregistering with the projections 48 of the clutch member D and thewasher moved longitudinally of the clutch member until such time as thewasher is in the plane of the channel 52 when a partial rotation isgiven to the disk to bring the segmental portions 54 in line with theprojections 48. It will be understood that the flanges 56 are spaced asuflicient distance from the axial center of the shaft A to clear theperiphery of the projections 48 and in order to prevent turning of thewasher E relatively to the clutch member D, the flanges 56, which are ofbendable material and are now in alignment with the notches 51, aredepressed by bending to a position in the notches as indicated at 57 inFigures 7, 8 and 1.0. While the bending of any one of the flanges inthis manner is sufficient to lock the washer against turning movement itis desirable to have a number of these flanges to guard against breakageof one or more and, in the contingency of repairing cars when it mightbe necessary to remove a. safety device and in the course of bendingback the flanges, there is liability of breakage.

The periphery of the clutch men'iber D is formed with a series ofapproximately radially extending shoulders 58 with which is adapted tocooperate a pivoted locking pawl 59, the locking pawl being held inoperative position by a pivoted cam 60. In the drau ings, I have shownthe pawl 59 engaging that shoulder which indicates the fully closedposition of the door and the remain.- ing shoulders 58 will be usedten'iporarily to hold the doors in partly closed position. The positionof the parts as indicated in Figure 6 represents the locked position ofthe mechanism. In said figure, the segmental lug 46 on the clutch memberengages the lug 39 on the shaft and consequently rotation of the shaftin an unlocking direction is pre vented as the pawl '59 secures theclutch member in position.

Assuming the parts in locked position as viewed in Figure 6, theunlocking operation is carried out as: follows. Locking cam 60 is swungin a clockwise direction clear of the pawl 59 which is then swung in acounterclockwise direction and out of engagement With'the lockingshoulders 58 of the clutch member D. A wrench or bar is then applied onthe square position .43 of the clutch member D and rotation thereofeffected in a counter-clockwise direction, the clutch members rotatingindependently of the shaft A through an are as indicated at 61 in Figure9 of slightly in excess of three-quarters of a revolution, until suchtime as the segmental lug 46 of the clutch member engages the reverseface of the lug 39 of the shaft,- assuming the position indicated bydotted lines at 62 in Figure 9. The motion of the clutch member D isthen communicated to the shaft A and both members will then rotate inunison until such time as the door operating mechanism proper becomesunlocked and the load on the doors exerts a rotating pull or torque onthe operating shaft A which then rotates independently of the,clutchmember 1)., It, will thus be seen that the clutch memberhas a lostmotion slightly in excess, of 210? plus th fill ther slight angularmovement necessary to,

move the arms B sufficiently to release the locking arrangement betweenthe link C- and the arms B whereas the. shaft A only moves through anarc of substantially 1809 from. closed to open position thereby assuringthe operator a margin; of safety in excess of Furthermore the clutchmechanism as illustrated is very simple consistingof veryfew parts andpossesses an unusual degree of stability inasmuchas the inner end; ofthe clutch member is supported in the bearing 18 and the outer end ofthe clutch member is supported on the shaft extension constituting thebearing 38. It will also be noted that I minimize the possibility of theparts becoming disassembled inasmuch as the interlocking of the parts isaffected by the washer E and clutch member D and I do not depend uponscrews or bolts or cotters for retaining the parts in as,- sembledrelation. The closing of the door is a reversal of the opening operationin so ar as the operations are concerned with the exception that. theclutch member D moves independently of the shaft through an arc slightlyin excess of 901 before the shaft A and housing D move in unison.

The pivots for the lockin pawl 59 and locking cam 60 are preferablyformed of bosses 63 formed integral with a strap 64:

' extending from one tothe other and the connection with the carstructureis made by bolts or rivets 65 passing through the bosses.

In the case of the rivet; securing the boss passing through the pawl 59,the rivet passes through the flange of the bearing 18 with the head ofthe rivet lying between said flange and car side wall 12.

I have herein shown and described what I now Consider the Jreferredembodiment of my invention, but the same is merely illustrative and Ivcontemplate all changes that come within the scope of the claimsappended hereto What I claim is: r

1. In a car door operating mechanism, a door operating shaft havingadjacent hearing portions of diiferent diameters and having aclutch.acting element rigid therewith; a bracket secured to the car structure;a clutch member rotatably mounted in said bracket and on one of the saidbearing portions of the shaft said clutch member having a cooperatingclutch element adapted to engage with said clutch element of the shaft.7

2. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft having a lug integral therewith; of a bearing secured to the carstructure; and a clutch member, rotatably mounted in the aforesaidbearing, said clutch member having a lug formed integrally therewithadapted for engagement with the lug on the shaft.

3. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a bearingsecured to. the car structure; of a clutch member rotatably .monnted inthe said bearing and having in ner bearings formed at either endthereof; of shaftjournalled in the said inner bearings; and lugs fixedto the shaft and clutch member respectively and disposed in the sameplane of rotation intermediate thesurface of the smaller of saidbearings.

4L. In a car door operating mechanisn1, thc combination with a bearingrigidly secured to the car structure; of a clutch member rotatablymounted therein and having an enlarged central portion having a lugformed on the inner face thereof; and a, shaft rotatably mounted. in thesaid clutch member formed with a lug adapted to en gage the lug on saidmember.

5. In a car door operating mechanism. a door operating shaft having twocircular bearing portions of different diameters and an operating clutchlug formed integrally with the end vall oi the larger of said bearingsand also formed integrally with the surface of the smaller of saidbearings.

6. In an operating mech-ani'sn'l for a door, the combination witha shafthaving a multiple part, fabricated arm rigid with the shaft andextending radially therefrom. the partsvof said arm being rigidlyconnected; of means connected to said arm and to the door for effectingoperation of the latter.

7. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft having a clutch lug rigidly secured thereto; 0t 2:. bearingsecured to the car structure; and a clutch member rotatably mounted inthe aforesaid bearing, said clutch member having a lug formed integrallytherewith adapted to have engagement with the lug on the shaft andhaving also a squared end by which the said member may be rotated andthrough which the shaft extends.

8. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with a bearingsecured to the car structure; of clutchmember rotatably mounted-thereinand having a portion extending outwardly from the bearing formed with anoperating head adapted to receive a tool and be rotated thereby, saidmember having a clutch lug formed therein; and an operating shaftrotatably mounted in the aforesaid member and formed with a lug adaptedto have engagement with the aforesaid lug formed in the clutch member,the said shaft being extended through the aforementioned operating headto support the same.

9. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft having a clutch lug formed thereon; of a bearing secured to thecar structure; a clutch member rotatably mounted in the aforesaidbearing, said clutch member having a lug formed therein adapted to haveengagement with the lug on the shaft, said clutch member also havingradially extending shoulders with which a pivoted pawl co-perates tolock the clutch member against rotation and provided also with a squaredend by which rotation thereof may be elfected and through which theoperating shaft extends.

10. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft having a lug secured thereto; of a bearing rigidly secured to thecar structure; and a clutch member rotatably mounted therein, saidclutch member having a lug secured thereto adapted for engagement withthe lug on the shaft and being also provided with an integral flangedisposed adjacent the bearing to limit movement of the clutch memberlengthwise of the shaft.

11. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft and a cooperating clutch member rotatably mounted in a bracketsecured to the car structure; of means for preventing relativetransverse movement between the clutch member and the bracket, saidmeans comprising fianges fixed relatively to the clutch member anddisposed on either side of the bracket.

12. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft and a co-operating clutch member rotatably mounted in a bracketsecured to the car structure; of means for preventing relativetransverse movement between the clutch member and the bracket, saidmeans comprising flanges fixed relatively to the clutch member anddisposed on either side of the bracket, one of the aforesaid flangesbeing removably mounted on the clutch member.

13. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft; of a bee ring secured to the car structure; a clutch memberloosely connected to said shaft and removably mounted in the bearing;and a retaining washer disposed in a groove adjacent the bearing toprevent transverse movement of the clutch member, said washer beingretained in position by bending of a portion of the metal thereof.

14. In a car door operating mechanism, the combination with an operatingshaft; of a bearing secured to the car structure; a clutch memberremovably mounted in the bearing; a retaining washer disposed in agroove adjacent the bearing to prevent transverse movement of the clutchmember, one side of said groove being formed of alternately disposednotches and projections and the retaining washer being also formed withnotches and projections, the insertion of the washer in the groove beingaccom plished by aligning the notches on the washer wit-h theprojections on the clutch member and thereafter giving the washer apartial turn to bring the projections on the clutch member in alignmentwith the projections on the retaining washer; and means for locking theWasher against turning movement relatively to the clutch member.

15. In an operating mechanism for a pivoted door, the combination with ashaft having a plurality of arms extending radially therefrom and rigidtherewith, of a link disposed between the said arms and pivotallyconnected to the free ends of said arms and to the door, said arms beingformed with flanges disposed side by side and secured to each other.

16. In a hopper car having a sloping hopper bottom sheet and a hopperdoor pivotally mounted to swing about its upper edge, the combinationwith a shaft extending transversely of the car and parallel with thedoor, said shaft having one end thereof extended to the side of the car,and there provided with a lug formed integrally there with; a bearingmounted. on the car structure; a clutch member rotatably mounted in. thebearing and having a lug formed thereon adapted to have engagement withthe lug on the shaft, said member being provided also with a squared endby which the same may be rotated and through which the shaft ex tends;an arm extending rigidly from the shaft; and a link pivotally connectedto the outer end of said arm and to the door.

17. In a safety door operating mechanism, the combination with a bracketprovided with a journal bearing; of a clutch member rotatably mountedwithin said bearing and provided with an interior concentric journalbearing; a shaft rotatably mounted within said journal bearing of theclutch member; and cooperating clutch elements on said clutch member andshaft arranged for a pre determined amount of rotative lost motiontherebetween.

18. In a device of the character described, the combination with abracket having a journal bearing therein; of a clutch member rotatablymounted in the journal bearing of said bracket; and means for preventingaccidental movement of said clutch member lengthwise within the journalbearing, said means comprising, integral portions on the clutch memberengaging the bearing bracket at one end of the bearing, and a detachablewasher mounted on the opposite end of said clutch member and interlockedtherewith,

said washer engaging the bearing bracket at the opposite end of thejournal bearing.

19. In an operating mechanism for a door, the combination with a shafthaving a noncircular section included thercii'i; of an arm, said armcomprising a multiple of pieces,

each of which has a hub-section and an in- In Witness that I claim theforegoing I terior opening of a cross-section to fit said have hereuntosubscribed my name this 13th 10 non-circular cross-section of the shaftday of February 1923.

whereby the arm is made rigid with the shaft, said arm extendingradially from the ARGYLE CAMPBELL. shaft and the parts being rigidlyunited; Witnesses: 7 and operative connections between said arm FnANonsSAVAGE,

and the door. HARRIETTE M. DEAMER.

